Water Department

1142 Prairie Avenue
(937) 382-3614

The City of Wilmington is provided water from its own municipal water system. The current population served by the water system is approximately 11,921 people or 4,952 customers, which includes the Wilmington Industrial Air Park. Currently in 2009, the Wilmington Water Plant treats an average daily flow of 1.6-MG (Million Gallons).

The raw water source for the City of Wilmington is Caesar Creek Lake. The lake is located in Warren, Green, and Clinton Counties. It has 40 miles of shoreline with 2,830 acres of surface area. The lake during the busy season is 7.5 miles long. Total storage of the lake is 10,550 acres. There are 237 square miles of runoff area. There is 39,155-acre feet of water set aside for water supply.

The Wilmington Water Plant is a 4-MGD surface water lime softening plant which is located at 1142 Prairie Avenue. Raw water enters the plant through a 24-inch pipe. The water is metered, and passed through to a flash mix where lime, alum, and carbon are added. Then it travels to a splitter box that distributes it to four (4) sedimentation basins. The sedimentation basins consist of flocculation chambers in which the water is agitated by large impellers. After the flocculation chambers, the water travels slowly through the basins to a flume located on the opposite end of the basins from the flocculation chambers. The water then travels through the flume to the re-carbonation tank and from there it is chlorinated then passes through a 24-inch pipe to the filter building. In the filter building the water travels to a filter splitter box which distributes it to two (2) clusters of filters with each cluster containing four (4) sand filter cells. Each filter cell can produce 0.5 MGD. Ortho/Poly phosphate and chlorine is added after the filters. The water then flows to a 1.385-MG clear well adjacent to the plant. The filter effluents and a supplemental backwash line supply backwash water for the filters. High service pumps are located in the basement of the Filter Building, consisting of four (4) vertical turbine pumps used to pump water from the clear well to the elevated towers in the distribution system. Water is pumped to four (4) water towers: 1.0 MG at the Air Park, 1.0 MG at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, .750 MG on Prairie Avenue, and a .500 MG on Route 68 south.

The distribution system is comprised of approximately 99 miles of pipe varying in size from 4-inch to 14-inch. Approximately 50% of the pipe is cast iron and the rest is made up of PVC, ductile iron and AC. There are approximately 660 fire hydrants in the system.

Our Water Quality Lab monitors raw water sources, finished water, and distributed water. This EPA-certified water quality lab helps to insure the safety and aesthetics of the drinking water. Performing hundreds of tests year round, our monitoring program exceeds the state and federal requirements for testing.

Mission of the Wilmington Water Department

To provide a safe, clean, and continuous supply of water for municipal and fire protection purposes that meets or exceeds local, State, and Federal standards for public health and environmental quality, and to provide courteous, responsive, and efficient service in the most cost-effective manner to our customers.

To find out more information about water and our services, stop by our department and pick up the available brochures.